Say Farewell
by Nirin Tani
Summary: Close quarters and narrow escapes make fast friends, but the Dream Traveler can never linger. A three-part reimagining of the Lunatea's Veil endgame, highlighting the action and bittersweet emotion of the Klonoa series. Complete!
1. Boarding the Ark

[I'm going pretty tame with my first attempt at a _Klonoa _fic. This is largely just a re-envisioning of some of the ending stretch of _Lunatea's Veil_. You may notice a few departures from canonical physics (e.g. Lolo doesn't discorporate to power Klonoa's ring), but such deviations should be minor.

This will be a short fic, no more than two or three chapters. I'm first and foremost experimenting to see if I can capture the characters, action, and emotion of the game in prose at all.]

* * *

Rain fell in sheets upon the forested hillside near the Sea of Tears. Sorrow would soon come to Lunatea, and the sky welcomed it.

There at the crest of the hill stood three companions, soaked through their fur and tired from their ascent to that point. The path, broken by earthquakes and infested with monsters of all breeds, had sapped much of their strength. But the end was not even in sight.

"Is... is this the right place?" asked Lolo, wiping rain from her eyes with the back of her hand.

Popka gave a little jump of indignation, narrowing his shattered-glass eyes at her. "Of course it is, ya silly! The Ark has ta go over the Sea of Tears ta get ta the Kingdom of Sorrow. And we should be way ahead of 'em, this is the best shortcut I know! We'll just stop down at the edge and wait for 'em."

"Right." Klonoa wrung water from his ears, but it did little good. He picked up the surfboard from Joilant Fun Park--it hadn't been fun lugging it all the way up to the cliffs, but it would be essential in this next part of their mission--and set it down in front of him, careful to keep it trapped under one foot to keep it from sliding away. "Everyone ready?"

Lolo wrapped her arms around his waist, holding on tight, and nodded against him. "Mm." Popka clambered out onto the board, perching at the front.

Klonoa grinned--"Okay! Here we go*, hold on!"--and hopped onto the middle of the board.

The surfboard cut through the wet grass on the slope as if it were pure water, plants parting to the sides of the crew like waves, and swiftly picked up speed. Trees and boulders whipped by and vanished in the mist and darkness. Klonoa guided them through, leaning from side to side to weave through obstacles. Lolo did what she could to work with him, holding on perhaps too tight as she let her weight shift with his.

"Look out!" cried Popka, as the board approached a large rock with no time to evade it.

"On it! One, two, three, _wahuu!_" With a sharp pulse from his legs, the board gained lift and popped up into the air, clearing the obstacle... but coming down the other side, headed straight for a thick, low branch jutting out from a tree on the left! Klonoa's ears flapped frantically, trying to net them even another fraction of a second of air, but his sodden fur availed them nothing. The board struck the branch dead center, and the three of them went tumbling, surfboard and all, head over heels down the grassy slope.

"Oof!" Klonoa shouted, spitting wet leaves. "Try to--_magya_--hold--on! I'll--get--us--going--again..."

The cat reached out and grabbed hold of a protruding root, wrenching his arm but arresting their tumble. From there, it took only a quick shuffle of his center of gravity and a kick on the still-speeding ground, and they were upright again.

At that moment, the foliage gave way, and the vista of the Sea of Tears spread out before them, churning with the storm. Beyond the edge of the cliffs and below, a great eagle-winged boat glided through the air, undeterred by the weather.

"The Ark!" cried Lolo. "We're too late!"

"We can still make it if we jump," advised Popka, "just keep goin'!"

Klonoa grimaced, wide-eyed. "I don't think I could stop if I wanted to! Stay with me, guys!"

"Claire save us," said Lolo, eyes closed, as the surfboard shot out over the rain-slick precipice.**

The surfboard tumbled away, its yellow and red stripes arrowing down into the dark. Its passengers plummeted headfirst, Popka clinging to Klonoa's ankle, Lolo still latched on to his back. The Ark drifted lazily away to their left, growing ever more out of reach.

In a final desperate move, Klonoa tucked his head in, turning the ball of adventurers in a somersault, then stretched out to full height and reached out with all the flexibility his feline body could manage.

Lolo's prayers must have served them well, as his gloved hand caught a fistful of an ancient tattered banner, flapping out behind the Ark like tailfeathers. Their fall came to a halt, at the cost of another sharp twist on the arm Klonoa already strained stopping their tumble on the hill.

"All right! Way ta go, Klonoa!" woofed Popka. "Now let's get up ta the deck."

"Just... gimme a sec..." said Klonoa, whimpering, as he shifted his grip to his good arm.

"_Myuu?_ What's all that noise?"

A familiar voice came from the deck above them, and a moment later a little creature came into view over the gunwale: Tat, lover of mischief. She peered down at them, blinking her one visible bright yellow eye. "Oooh. Hello, cuties! That's a silly place to hang around."

Lolo looked up at her, blinking as rain continued to fall in her eyes. "Tat! Help pull us up!"

The kitty-thing shook her head, grinning. "Oh, I don't think I can do that. The fabric on this old ship is just toooo threadbare, you'd never make it!" She reached out with her little claws and started scissoring along the top of the banner. The heroes' weight bearing down caused threads to groan and unravel with the widening cut.

"Tat!" shouted Klonoa, futile. A gust of wind caught his cap and started to blow it away. By reflex, he reached up with his good hand and pushed it more firmly down onto his head--leaving his weak arm holding the three of them for a moment. His grip faltered, and they slid a foot downward on the banner before he brought his other hand back to assist.

"Hee hee hee! Sorry, Klonoa darling, time to say bye-bye." Tat continued across the banner. No more than a quarter of its width now remained keeping them from a plunge into the sea. "_Nyao na!_"

Popka bayed with rage. Scampering up Klonoa's leg, over Lolo's back and Klonoa's head and up the final shred of banner, he reached the aft rail and dashed straight at the startled Tat. They collided and rolled, wrestling for a second on the brink, before the dog prevailed and hurled Tat over the edge.

The banner tore free of its beam. Lolo screamed.

Reacting with all his skill, Klonoa grabbed the ring from his belt and _pushed _with the sacred power flowing from Lolo. A Wind Bullet issued forth from his outstretched fist and struck Tat, falling beside them. The little cat inflated into a balloonish caricature of herself, and Klonoa hurled her downward, deflating her with a rush of force that propelled him and Lolo up into the air. They turned over once, twice, three times, and landed with a wet _splat _on the slick timbers of the deck. Lolo at last let go of Klonoa's waist, and rolled a yard or so away. Popka hopped down from the rail, and the three of them, panting, looked at each other with great relief to be alive.

From below the ship, they could hear a very faint "_Nyoooooooooooooo_..." and a splash.

"Will she be all right?" asked Lolo, looking back beyond the shredded top of the banner.

"No time ta mourn that twit," said Popka, "look!" He pointed at the door to the captain's cabin as it swung open.

"Well, well," said the figure that appeared there.

Klonoa struggled to his feet. "_Leorina._"

(to be continued...)

* * *

*Read this as "_rupurudu_" if you like. ;)

**Oh yes. I went there. ^.^ I wish I could say with conviction that the whole sequence wasn't just a buildup to that...


	2. Versus the Sky Pirate

The dark lioness took measured steps down the stairs from the captain's cabin, her eyes showing her contempt for the heroes scattered across the deck below her. "I'd hoped you would have given up by now. But even when at every turn you only played into my hands, you kept coming, so I shouldn't be surprised. You must truly love the chase."

"It... it's not that." Lolo got up as far as her knees. "The Elements should live in their respective kingdoms, keeping Lunatea in harmony. Maybe sorrow should come back to the world; we've forgotten too much. But it isn't the only thing in our hearts!"

Leorina growled, clenching the red gem-encrusted ring she held in her right hand. "You don't know anything about sorrow!" She took a deep breath as she reached the deck, calming herself, and with a flourish drew a long cutlass into her left hand. "Besides, none of that matters. Power does, and now I have all the power I need. Really, how do you expect to defeat a sky pirate on the deck of her ship?"

Klonoa slid into a fighting stance, brandishing his own ring with its green gem. "You're alone, Leorina. What's a sky pirate without a crew?"

The sky pirate's eyes flicked around the deck, and she frowned. "Tat... what did you...? Rrr." She shook her head. "But you're wrong anyway. I'm to be the Queen of Sorrow--I am not alone!" She raised her ring to the sky, and light flared, illuminating a column of falling rain. A strange humming filled the air, and then from out of the darkness behind the Ark came a veritable fleet of Kitons, the hoop-like creatures flying through the storm with deadly purpose.

One struck Klonoa in the back of the head before he could react, knocking him back on his face. "_Magya! _Ugh..."

"See?" said Leorina, smug. "These are the soldiers of Sorrow, eager to see their hour come at last. I'll never be without a crew... or an army."

Once again Klonoa hauled himself to his feet, his head ringing and legs trembling. "Nope. You're still alone, sorry. Lolo! Let's do this." The acolyte began to pray, and Klonoa's ring glowed once more with the power of the wind.

Leorina lunged first, thrusting with her cutlass. Klonoa dodged, almost skating on the thin layer of water on the floor of the ship, and counterattacked with a Wind Bullet. But Leorina just raised her ring, and the blue bolt splashed into a spray of harmless sparks. "Wind? Meet fire." She flicked her wrist, and the ring issued forth a tendril of bright red light that lashed the deck. Klona dive-rolled aside, and where he'd stood a moment before, a black scorch mark steamed in the rain.

So the direct approach wouldn't do much for him. A Kiton came diving at him again, but this time he was ready to intercept with his Wind Bullet. His ring bound to the creature, lifting him into the air over Leorina's head. She struck at him with her cutlass, but he swung his legs upward, carrying him out of her attack's reach. With a twirl of his ring, he spun full circle as his legs unfurled--and in so doing struck Leorina in the head with a vicious spinning kick.

The lioness went sprawling, but recovered quickly. Even as Klonoa dropped back to the deck, the commandeered Kiton spinning away confused into the dark, Leorina swung a broad high arc with her flame whip. A section of rigging, trimmed with gold thread and burning at cut ends, came swinging down to the deck, certain to entangle Klonoa like a net.

"Klonoa!" Lolo shouted, yanking him out of the way. He staggered back against the rail, and the rigging came down on Lolo instead.

Klonoa started to dash forward to help, but Popka was ahead of him. "I'll get Lolo! You deal with Leorina!" Popka started chewing on the heavy rope of the rigging. Klonoa nodded and circled around, a grim expression on his face.

Once more he faced off against Leorina, across the stairs. He faked a lunge toward the high ground, then fired another Wind Bullet, this time well wide of Leorina's defending ring. It struck true, grabbing the hilt of her sword. Unable to inflate or bond with the metal object, the elemental energy just knocked it away, disarming Leorina and sending the weapon sliding far across the deck.

"You little..!" Leorina rushed Klonoa, grabbing his arm. To his chagrin, it was the injured one, and he let out a yelp of pain as she lifted him off the deck by his wrist. "Hah. A little sensitive, are you?" She sneered in his face.

One eye squeezed shut against the pain, Klonoa lashed out desperately with another Wind Bullet, and to his great fortune it struck true, grabbing an ancient barrel standing by the rail behind Leorina. It hit her behind the knees as it flew toward Klonoa's ring, and she let go of him, falling over the barrel onto her back. The wind went out of her, and she lay there a moment, stunned.

It was all the time Klonoa needed. Snagging a small cargo crate with his Wind Bullet, he dropped it onto Leorina's outstretched arm, forcing her to let go of her ring. He dove to the deck, pouncing on the artifact before it could roll away. Struggling one last time to his feet, Klonoa crossed his arms at the wrists, pointing now two sacred rings down at Leorina. "It's over, Leo."

Leorina closed her eyes. Did she cry, then, or was it just the rain running down her upturned face? "The power... it wasn't enough. It never is, is it?"

Klonoa grinned at Lolo as she rushed to his side, free of the net just in time. "Nope. You kinda need a little of something else too."

(to be concluded)


	3. Say Farewell

Klonoa stood on the walkway outside of Claire Moa Temple, looking out through the hanging ivy at the Sea of Tears. The storm had passed, and the waters lay flat and serene all the way out to the jagged shape of the island Kingdom of Sorrow. Then he noticed Lolo, approaching quietly from the temple, and turned to face her. "How did it go? What did the High Priestess decide?"

Lolo looked down at her feet. "Mm... Leorina, and Tat if she ever shows up, are to be banished to the Kingdom of Sorrow. It's what she wanted, kinda... maybe they'll make something out of it. We have the Elements again, so they'll all go back to the Temples where they belong."

"Even Sorrow?"

The priestess-in-training nodded. "Yes. It's where it's meant to be. We'd just forgotten."

Klonoa grinned. "So I guess my work here is done!"

"Oh!" Lolo fidgeted, wringing her hands. "But shouldn't you rest up before you go? I mean... it's so late, and you've been fighting so hard. We could put you up in one of the empty acolyte rooms until morning, I'm sure the High Priestess wouldn't mind."

"Well..." He started to stretch, then winced as his injured arm protested the motion. "I guess I am kinda beat up. It'd be nice."

Lolo brightened. "I'll get everything ready then!" She turned around and dashed back to the Temple before Klonoa could get in another word.

* * *

As the Dream Traveler, Klonoa was already asleep, somewhere far away and unknown to the Lunateans. But he could rest, and the soft bed in the spare room quickly pulled him into a deep oblivious state of mind. He could not dream, but the night passed swiftly all the same.

* * *

Klonoa strolled out into the bright morning feeling refreshed. A new beginning for Lunatea, and time for him to at last return home. He saw Popka dozing under a tree, and grinned. Yeah, things were going to be all right. And there was Lolo, come to see him off! He reached for his ring...

...it wasn't there.

Klonoa's eyes widened. "The ring! It's gone! I lay down with it on my belt as always, but now..." He frantically patted around his waist and looked over his shoulders, but it was nowhere to be found.

"Oh no... you can't go home without it, can you?" said Lolo.

"No, I can't! This is terrible! Somebody must have taken it while I dozed..." He had a flash of realization, and slammed a fist into his palm, scowling. "Tat! That little scoundrel, she must have made her way up here and snatched it. When I catch her, I'm gonna--"

Then he paused. He thought back a moment in his memory, and looked at Lolo. She hadn't sounded dismayed at all. More like... hopeful. Klonoa sighed and looked at her with a wan smile. "Oh, Lolo... where did you put it?"

She bowed her head for a moment, then produced the ring from her pocket, holding on to it with both hands. Klonoa reached out, palm up to receive it, and Lolo started to give it back, but hesitated, her eyes sad. "Would it really be 'terrible'? To have to stay here? ...With me?"

Klonoa blinked, taken aback. "Well, no. I didn't mean it like that, but... Lolo, you know I can't stay. Lunatea isn't my home, it's not even my world."

"But you can come back, right? To visit?"

The cat looked down and away, scratching the base of his ear. "Lo... I'm the Dream Traveler. I don't _choose _to go places, I just show up where I'm needed. If I were to come back to Lunatea, it'd mean your world got broken again. And I don't think that's gonna happen."

Lolo trembled. "Why not?"

Klonoa looked up again, and put his hands on his friend's shoulders. "Because of you, Lolo. You're going to be strong. With Popka, and the High Priestess, maybe even Leorina if she gets her act together. You're going to be strong and keep Lunatea in harmony."

At last Lolo broke down. The ring fell from her hands, and she threw her arms around Klonoa, sobbing. "But how can I be strong? Klonoa, it all came from _you_. I was a failure before I met you, and _then _I could be a priestess and fight for Lunatea... without you I don't know how I'd do it!"

"Ssh..." Klonoa held her a while, eyes closed, waiting for her sobs to slow. He nuzzled her shoulder. "Lolo, I'm a simple guy. I just want to have fun and help people. But... I'll try to explain." With his head resting against her, he looked out over the Sea of Tears, catching sight of the Kingdom of Sorrow once again. "What were the Elements, Lolo? The Bells, the feelings that went with each Kingdom?"

Even on the surfboard she hadn't held him as tight as this. "Sorrow. Indecision. Discord. Joy. And Tranquility."

"Yeah. You're going to need all of those. You'll be sad for a while. You'll keep wondering how to get by, you won't know what to do next. You'll be angry at me for leaving. But then... it'll be behind you. You'll find something new to make you happy, maybe someone else--"

"Never!" She buried her face in him.

He wanted to dispute that further, but let it go. "Maybe you'll be the next High Priestess or something! I don't know, but it'll be great. And you'll be at peace. You won't need a Dream Traveler to come put things right anymore."

Lolo turned her head, resting on Klonoa's shoulder for as long as she could make the moment stay. Her eyes fell on one of the roadside statues of Claire that had been waypoints of solace in their adventure, and another tear rolled down her cheek. "I don't know where to start."

Klonoa took a deep breath. "Just two simple things. Let me go... and say farewell."

She closed her eyes a little while longer, then slowly peeled free her arms. She took one of Klonoa's big fluffy ears and blotted away her tears. Then she took one step back, bent down and picked up the fallen ring. Holding it out, she met Klonoa's eyes at last. "Farewell, Klonoa of the Wind. May Claire bless you on your way home."

The Dream Traveler smiled broadly and took back his ring. "Goodbye, Priestess Lolo."

With that, he walked away, fading from view even before he turned the corner of the path down to La-Lakoosha.

* * *

[So, what do you think? ^.^

This chapter is really the whole point of my writing this thing; I wanted to build upon the poignant ending of _Lunatea's Veil _in a way that (a) gave the characters a little more conversational breathing room, and (b) took away the emotional cop-out of Klonoa's "we'll always be together" line. For as much as the thing was about appreciating the value of sorrow, the resolution proposed by the canonical ending seems to advocate a Mira-Miran attitude: miring oneself in the past. It's harsh, but Lolo needs to _forget _Klonoa, not dwell eternally on having lost him, if she's to realize her character arc. And I really do want to see her grow into some greater self-esteem!

Agree? Disagree? Praise? Flame? Let me know!]


End file.
